Car-door cleat and fastener



' 1 @5- Jhiapg s 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) I

H. WOODRUPP.

GAR DOOR GLEAT AND FASTENER.

Np. 548,281. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

AN DREW [GRAHAM PNU'IO'LI'MQWASHINGWWRG.

(No Model.) v 2 SheetsS1 1eet 2. H; WOODRUFF. GAR DOOR GLEAT'AND PASTENER.

No. 548,281. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

Wilgasses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAWKINS WOODRUFF, OF NEWARK, TEXAS.

CAR-DOOR CL E A T AND FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,281, dated October 22, 1895. Application filed December 18, 1394. .Serial No. 532,252. on model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAwKINs' WOODRUFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Wise and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Oar-Door Cleat and Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car-door cleats and fasteners.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and comparatively-inexpensive car-door cleat and fastener designed for use on cars for transporting cotton and other highly-inflam mable merchandise and capable of effectually excluding sparks from the interior of the car and of preventingthe same from entering between the edge of the door and the doorway.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device which will be capable of securely locking the car-door and of receiving the ordinary car-seal.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a car provided with a car-door cleat and fastener constructed in accordance with this invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views illustrating the position of the parts of the combined car-door cleat and fastener when open and when closed- Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, the cleat being disengaged from the stop or lug of the lower bearing Fig. 5 is a detail view showing'the cleat in engagement with the stop or lug of the lower bearing. Figs. 6 and 7 are'detail Views of the fastener. Fig. 8 is adetail view of the cleat and its bearing.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of thedrawlngs.

1 designates a car provided with a door 2, which is slidingly mounted in the usual or any desired manner, and its free edge when closed is engaged by a vertically-disposed cleat 3, journaled on the-car-frame and adapted to be swung back out 'of the way when it is desired to open the door, as illustrated in Fig; 2 of the accompanying drawings, and as illustrated in Fig. 3 it is adapted when the door is closed to be swung outward against the vertical edge of the door to close the space between the free edge of the door and the car to exclude sparks to prevent the latter from coming in contact with the contents of the car. The cleat is preferably constructed of sheet metal and has its inner edge rolled to form a vertical cylindrical portion 4, which is extended above and below the body portion of the cleat to form journals, and the latter are arranged in upper and lower bearings 5 and 6, secured to the car-frame at a point inside of the path of the car-door. The upper bearing 5 has atubular portion to receive the upper journal of the cleat and is provided with securing-flanges, and the lower bearing 6 is constructed in the same manner and is provided at the upper edge of its tubular portion with a lug or projection 7, beveled at one side and forming a shoulder at the side adjacent to the car-door when the latter is closed, and this lug or projection is adapted to engage the bottom of the body portion of the cleat to h'old it firmly against the car-door. The cleat is adapted to swing up the inclined or beveled outer side of the projection or lug 7 and drops in engagement with the shoulder at the inner side, as will readily be seen from Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings.

- The lower journalof the cleat at a point below the car-door is provided with a horizontally-disposed handle or hand-hold 8, extending outward from the cleat and providing convenient means for grasping the cleat to swing the same in either direction, and also for lifting the cleat out of engagement with the stop or lug of the lower bearing.

The cylindrical portion of the cleat is let into the frame of the car, and the latter is provided with a recess 9 to receivethe cleat when the latter is open to permit the cleat to lie clear of the car-door when it is'desiredto open the latter, as will be clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

When the cleat is in engagement with-the door, it is locked in that position by a fastener 10, comprising a base-plate 11, a catch-lever 12, fulcrumed on one end of the plate and arranged to engage the cleat, an operating or handle lever 13, fulcrumed at the opposite end of the plate and connected with the catch or engaging lever, and a locking-pin 14 for securing the levers against movement in their locked and unlocked positions. The engaging-lever 12 is fulcrumed intermediate of its ends between perforated cars 15 of the plate 11, and it is disposed horizontally and is provided at its outer end with a lug for engaging the outer face of the cleat to prevent the lattcr from swinging backward away from the car-door. The handle or operating lever is provided at its outer end with a loop. It is disposed horizontally similarly to the engaging or locking lever 12 and is fulcrumed between perforated ears 16 of the plate, and its inner end is connected by a pivot 17 with the adjacent end of the locking-lever 12. The pivot 17 is arranged in a perforation of the lever 12 and in a short slot of the operating or handle lever 13, whereby the inner ends of the levers have a limited sliding movement on each other to permit their inward and outward swing, and the adjacent faces of the inner ends of the levers 12 and 13 are recessed to permit the lovers to lie in the same horizontal plane. The locking-pin is located in a vertical eye of the plate 11 and is designed to engage the inner and outer edges of the levers 12 and 13, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings, to lock those levers against movement to retain the fastener in either its fulcrumed or locked position. The eye for the pin is formed by perforated ears 1S and 19. The ears 18 are located above and below the levers in vertical alignment, and the upper or rather the top ear 19 is provided with opposite lugs or projections 20, engaging corresponding grooves of the locking-pin 14:, and the grooves terminate short of the ends of the locking-pin and limit the vertical movement of the same to prevent the locking-pin from being entirely withdrawn from the eye of the plate.

It will be seen that the combined car-door cleat and fastener is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction and positive in operation. It is capable of effectually excluding sparks and of preventing the same from passing between the car-door and the frame of the car, and the door is securely confined in its closed position. The cleat when in engagement with the stop or lug of its lower bearing is capable of confining the car-door in its closed position, which is advantageous when it is desired to move empty cars or those containing unimportant merchandise, and the locking-pin is provided at its lower end with a slot 22 to receive the wire of the ordinary car-seal.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. The combination with a car having a sliding door, of upper and lower bearings secured to the car and located adjacent to the free edge of the door when the latter is closed, the lower bearing being provided at the upper edge of its tubular portion at the outer side thereof with a lug 7 beveled at one side and forming a shoulder at the side adjacent to the door, a vertically disposed cleat constructed of sheet metal and having its inner longitudinal edge rolled cylindrically to form journals and arranged in the said bearings, the body portion of the cleat resting upon the lower bearing and terminating short of the upper bearing, whereby it is capable of vertical movement to ride up the beveled portion of the lug and drop behind the shoulder thereof, and a rigid handle connected with the lower journal and located below the car door, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a car having a sliding door, of a vertical cleat hingedly mounted on the car and arranged to swing outward against the free edge of the door when the latter is closed, and a fastening device comprising a plate, a locking lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the plate and arranged to engage and confine the cleat, an operating lever fulcrumed on the plate and loosely connected with the adjacent end of the locking lever, and a locking pin mounted on the plate and arranged to engage said levers to hold them against movement, and adapted to receive a car seal, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a car having a sliding door, of a hinged cleat mounted vertically on the car and arranged to engage the door, a fastening device comprising a plate, a locking lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the plate and provided at its outer end with a lug for engaging the cleat, an operating lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the plate and provided at its inner end with a slot, and a pivot connecting the adjacent ends of said levers and arranged in said slot, and a locking pin mounted on said plate and arranged to engage either the inner or the outer sides of said levers, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4:. The combination with a car having a sliding door, of a vertically disposed hinged cleat mounted on the car, and a fastener comprising a plate having a vertical eye provided at its top with a lug, the locking and operating levers fulcrumed intermediate of their ends on the plate and having their inner ends pivotally connected and located at said eye, and a locking pin arranged in said eye and capable of vertical movement and provided with a groove receiving said lug and limiting the vertical movement of the pin, substantially as described.

5. A fastening device for car doors comprising a plate, a locking lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the plate, an operating lever fulcrnmed on the plate and loosely my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in connected with the adjacent end of the lockthe presence of two witnesses. ing lever, and a removable locking pin mounted on the plate and adapted to be ar- HAWKINS WOODRUFF' 5 ranged in front or in rear of said levers, sub- Witnesses:

stantially as and for the purpose described. R. A. HUDSON, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as J. B. LEMONS. 

